Melaleuca sculponeata

Melaleuca sculponeata is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, rare shrub with fleshy leaves and white heads of flowers.

Melaleuca sculponeata

Priority Three — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species:
M. sculponeata
Binomial name
Melaleuca sculponeata
Barlow[1]

Description

Melaleuca sculponeata is a shrub growing to about 0.5 m (2 ft) tall with branches and leaves that are glabrous when mature. Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs, each pair at right angles to the ones above and below (decussate) so that the leaves form four rows along the stems. Each leaf is 1.3–3.2 mm (0.05–0.1 in) long and 0.8–1.2 mm (0.03–0.05 in) wide, narrow oblong in shape and fleshy with the lower part of the leaf touching the stem. The leaf is concave on the upper surface, convex on the lower surface where 6 to 8 oil glands are visible but not prominent.[2][3]

The flowers are white and arranged in heads on the sides of the branches. Each head contains 4 to 12 individual flowers. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flowers and there are 8 to 12 stamens per bundle. The main flowering period is in October and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) in diameter forming clusters on the old wood.[2][4]

Taxonomy and naming

Melaleuca sculponeata was first formally described in 1992 by Bryan Barlow in Nuytsia[3] as a new species.[1] The specific epithet (sculponeata) is from the Latin sculponea meaning "wooden shoe"[5] referring to the leaves, when removed from the stem, appearing like clogs.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Melaleuca sculponeata occurs in two small, isolated populations in the Fitzgerald River and the Lake King districts[2] in the Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions.[6] The plants grow in sand on sandplains.[7]

Conservation

Melaleuca sculpeonata is listed as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife[6] meaning that it is known from only a few locations and is not currently in imminent danger.[8]

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References
  1. "Melaleuca sculponeata". APNI. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  2. Brophy, Joseph J.; Craven, Lyndley A.; Doran, John C. (2013). Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses. Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. p. 320. ISBN 9781922137517.
  3. Quinn, Frances; Cowley, Kirsten; Barlow, Bryan; Thiele, Kevin (1998). "New names and combinations for some Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) species and subspecies from the south-west of Western Australia considered rare or threatened" (PDF). Nuytsia. 8 (3): 347–348. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  4. Holliday, Ivan (2004). Melaleucas : a field and garden guide (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland Publishers. p. 18. ISBN 1876334983.
  5. Peck, Harry Thurston. "sculponea". Tufts University: Perseus digital library. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  6. "Melaleuca sculponeata". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  7. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 397. ISBN 0646402439.
  8. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
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